house. The springs naturally contain but 1 per cent. of saline particles, which requires to be raised to 26 or 28 per cent. to convert it into saturated brine. m. further (3 m. from Kreuznach), is another extensive saline, called Münster am Stein, built on a flat, nearly encircled by the Nahe, at the foot of the magnificent precipice of red porphyry 600 ft. high, which is crowned by the Castle of Rheingrafenstein, an ancient stronghold of the Rheingraves, destroyed by the French in 1689. It is literally perched, like an eagle's nest, on a pinnacle of the rock, and is accessible from the salt works by a ferry and a very steep footpath. From a neighbouring and still higher peak, called the Gans (Goose), the best view over the Nahe is obtained. [A little above the Rheingrafenstein, at the junction of the Alsenz with the Nahe, rises Ebernburg, a castle which belonged to Franz of Sickingen, the last of the knights errant, the terror of Worms and Frankfurt, who, though but a simple knight, besieged the cities of Metz and Treves with an army of 2000 horse and 17,000 foot, bidding defiance to the Emperor. In this stronghold he sheltered from persecution many of the early Reformers, who were his bosom friends. Melanchthon, Bucer, and colampadius, took refuge here under his roof; and Ulric Von Hutten composed several of his works in this retreat. Its defences were so much augmented and strengthened, that it was thought capable of bidding defiance even to the armies of the em. pire. After Sickingen's death, however, his castle, though stoutly defended at first, was at length surrendered to the Electors of Hesse and of Treves, who carried off all the spoils, and then burnt it. The valley of the Alsenz contains some picturesque scenes and several ruined castles. Inns: Müllers, at Alsenz; and Hörsters (very fair) at Dielkirchen, 9 m. from the top of the Donnersberg (p. 523.). Near Obermoschel is the quicksilver mine of Landsberg, now unproductive. Between Obermoschel and Meissenheim there are coal mines, which extend all the way from the Glan to the borders of the Alsenz; the quicksilver is also situated in the coal formation.] During the next stage from Kreuznach the road quits the side of the Nahe, and, leaving these castles and the salt works considerably on the l., proceeds direct to Sobernheim, passing on the rt. of the Castle and Abbey of Sponheim, the cradle of one of the noblest and most ancient families on the Rhine. 1. near Staudernheim, lie the exten. sive ruins of the convent of Dissibodenberg. A little below Sobernheim the Nahe receives the waters of the Glan. 24 Sobernheim.-Inns: Post; Ad ler. An old town, pop. 2300. In the 10th cent, the inhabitants, aided by the Pope, who granted them an indulgence for two years, built a bridge over the Nahe; since then, the river has changed its bed, and left the bridge on dry land. At Martinstein a basin-shaped valley opens out, at whose extremity rise the majestic ruins of the Castle of Dhaun, commanding a fine view. A path leads down from them, past the village of Dhaun and Johannisberg, into the Nahe valley again. Below Johannisberg a wild gorge opens out, through which a road runs to 2 Kirn.-Inns: Bey Rheinlander, Bey Wittwe Doll. The scenery from the Castle of Dhaun to Oberstein is magnificent, and will well repay the toilsome journey from Kreutznach. The road is now macadamised the whole way to 2 Oberstein (Inns: Post; Bey Cæsar), which is one of the dirtiest towns it is possible to conceive. It is a small town very picturesque from its old ruined wooden buildings, and beautifully situated on the Nahe, shut in by high and romantic cliffs, chiefly of porphyry or amygdaloid, abounding in agates, amethysts, &c., of great beauty and variety. The business of cutting and polishing them occupies a considerable number of the inhabitants. The stones are ground and polished by means of grinding stones of red sand stone, moved by water-wheels in numerous small mills scattered along the neighbouring streams. There are large polishing mills at Idar, 13 mile off. Close to Oberstein are two fine precipitous isolated rocks. On the summit of each are remains of an ancient castle; one still inhabited by peasants, the other quite a ruin. Immediately under the latter, in the face of the precipice, about of its height above the valley, a large cavity has been hollowed out, in which the ancient Lutheran church may be said to be embedded."-T. T. It is approached by stairs cut in the rock. The living rock forms the roof and one side of the building; the other side is built up with a wall of masonry, in which are two large windows to light the interior. A spring of water gushes out of the floor. The agate manufactory is not so profitable as formerly; but the locality is interesting to the mineralogist, as, in addition to very fine and large agates, he will here be enabled to collect many other rare minerals and crystals, as chabasite, harmotome, &c. Oberstein belongs to the distant Duchy of Oldenburg. The territory on the opposite side of the river formerly belonged to S. Coburg, but has been sold to Prussia. The vale of the Nahe loses its beauty and interest above Oberstein. road continues excellent. The 24 Birkenfeld (Inn, kept by Widow Medicus), is the chief town of the principality of that name, belonging to Oldenburg, and contains a plain white washed Ducal Château. A hilly, but well macadamised road, provided with post-horses, leads over the bleak high land of the Hochwald, from Birkenfeld, by Hermeskeil (a straggling village, containing nothing remarkable), 3 Germ. m. to Treves, 4 Germ. m. about 32 Eng. m. 3 St. Wendel. A fine Church here. 14 Ottweiler. Friedrichsthal. At Duttweiler, about 3 Eng. m. before reaching Saarbrücken, is a seam of coal, which has been on fire for the last 150 years. It is called "der brennende Berg." 4 Saarbrücken or Saarbrück. (Inns : Post; Bär.) A Prussian town of 8000 inhab. on the Saar, which here begins to be navigable, and is crossed by a bridge connecting the town with the suburb of St. Johann. The Schloss was, down to 1793, the residence of the Princes of Nassau-Saarbrücken; and in the Palace church (Schlosskirche) are many monuments of that family. There are several coal mines in the neighbour. hood. About 2 miles S. of Saarbrücken, and higher up the valley of the Saar, is Arnual, with a fine Gothic church (1315), in which are some remarkable monuments of the NassauSaarbrücken family. Schnellposts daily, by Metz to Paris; by Saarlouis, Merzig, and Saarburg; to Maintz, and to Kreuznach. Steam. boats run daily between Saarbrücken and Saarlouis. ROUTE 100 a. SAARBRÜCK TO TREVES. 124 Germ. m.= 57 Eng. m. The road from Saarbrücken to Treves descends the beautiful valley of the Saar. 3 Saarlouis. Inns : Reinischer Hof; Salmen; Hase. A strong fromtier fortress of Prussia, with a long stone bridge over the Saar, which flows half round the town, and sometimes during the winter lays part of it under water. The The fortifications may be inundated by sluices. One of the barracks contains an Artesian well. Saarlouis was fortified by Vauban in 1680, by order of Louis XIV. Hence its name, which was during the 1st French revolution changed to Sarrelibre. inhabitants (7000) are partly descended from English prisoners placed here by Louis XIV. It is the birthplace of Marshal Ney. By the peace of Rys wyk, France was left in possession of Saarlouis, but it was transferred to Prussia by the treaties of 1814-15. 2 Merzig. At about one-third of the way between this place and Saarburg 214 Germ. m. and 73 French posts 146 Eng. m. A diligence goes daily in 34 hours, a mallepost in less. This road was made by Napoleon, to open a direct communication between Mayence and Paris, and thence is called the Imperial road (Kaiser Strasse). Darmstädter 14 Niederolm. 14 Wörrstadt. 1 Alzey. - Inns Hof; Poste; zum Kaiser. A very ancient town (3500 inhab.) known to the Romans as Altiaia. The Castle, an extensive ruin, was destroyed by the French in 1689. The road quits Hesse Darmstadt and enters Bavaria at the village of Morschheim. 1 Kirchheim Boland.-Inn, Poste. A town of 3200 inhab., having iron works in its vicinity. The Mont Tonnerre (Donnersberg), | is about 6 m, distant. The road leaves it on the right, winding round its base. It is mentioned by Tacitus, who calls it Mons Jovis. During the French do mination it gave the name to a Department, of which Mayence was the chief town. The mountain is 2090 Par. ft. above the sea, and is composed of porphyry. On the Plateau at the top is a farm-house, once an old convent, which affords humble accommodation. It is encircled by a wall, whose origin is unknown, though it is supposed to be Roman. The best view is obtained from the point called Hirtenfels, or from the signal tower which was erected for a trigonometrical survey, but is not so fine as that from the Melibocus on the opposite side of the Rhine. Its 1 Kaiserslautern.-Inns: Donnersberg Hotel, very good; Baierische Hof, dear; Post. A town of 6500 inhab., in a very pretty situation. antiquity is very great. The Empr. Barbarossa built a strong castle here, which was destroyed by the French in the War of the Succession, and a prison now occupies its place. Three successive engagements took place near this in 1793-94, between the French and Germans, in which the last gained some advantage. There are considerable woollen manufactories here. railway was opened on the 1st July, 1848, from this place to Homburg. It forms part of the line called the Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn, which is to connect Mannheim and the coal-mines of Bexbach, near Homburg. A Engel; 2 Landstuhl Stat. · Inns Baierische Krone; Post. A town of 1500 inhab., which formerly belonged to the Counts of Sickingen, whose Castle in ruins overhangs the town; its walls are 24 ft. thick, and many of its chambers are hewn out of the rock. through Rhenish Bavaria to Mannheim; it conducts the traveller through the ancient Imperial cities of Worms and Spires, so interesting in an historical point of view, and so dull and desolate in their present state. Those who prefer pretty scenery should take the route by Darmstadt and the Bergstrasse (R. 105.). Whichever route is followed, the traveller should not omit to visit Heidelberg and Baden. The brave and chivalrous Frans of of Hesse as far as Worms, thence Sickingen, the Cid, and Bayard of Germany, the friend of Luther, and of Götz of Berlichingen, lost his life in it, in a bold struggle to defend it from the besieging forces of his deadly and powerful enemies, the Bishop of Treves and the Elector of Hesse. His death was caused by a heavy beam detached by a cannon ball from the roof, which fell on him and crushed him. He was buried under the altar in the Catholic church, where his monument, mutilated by the French, may still be seen. STEAMERS ascend the Rhine from Mayence to Mannheim twice a-day, in 6 hours, returning in 4; from Mannheim to Strasburg daily in 20 hours, stopping at Daxlanden or Leopoldshafen to let out passengers for Carlsruhe, The steamer descends in 2 days from Strasburg to Cologne, stopping the first night at Mannheim or Mayence; and the best boats reach Rotterdam from Mayence in 36 hours. The river winds very much in this part of its course, and the ascending voyage is tedious, slow, and disagreeable. Of late years many canals have been formed across the isthmuses created by the turns of the river, and thus its course is being shortened. This renders the steam-voyage quicker. Still it is preferable to travel upwards by railway. Eilwagen daily from Mayence to Mannheim; thence by rail to Heidelberg, &c. The direct road by the banks of the Rhine from Spires to THE RHINE (E). MAYENCE TO STRAS. Strasburg is given here, for the benefit of those who travel by steam; but there is no inducement to follow it in a carriage. The E. bank of the Rhine, along which the road runs from Mayence, is at first a succession of gentle hills planted with profitable vineyards, the best among them being those of Bodenheim and Laubenheim. the low ground of the Rhine valley, all the way to Switzerland, is fertile in the extreme. The soil of a small 1. Nierstein (Inn, Anker), town of 2200 inhab., gives its name to a very good second class wine, produced in the surrounding vineyards. The Sironabad, near Nierstein, was no assistance to the praiseworthy undertaking. A ruined chapel within the churchyard is half filled with the skulls and bones of Swedes and Spaniards, who fell here in battle, 1631, champions of the cause of Protestantism and Popery. rt. Gustavus Adolphus recorded his passage of the Rhine, in the winter of Dec. 7. 1631, by a monument on the rt. bank at Erfelden, a little above Oppenheim. It consists of a pillar with a lion on the top. The Swedes crossed the Rhine singing a psalm; and there is a tradition, that their sovereign and leader was ferried over on a barn door. The field of battle still goes by the name of the Spaniards' churchyard, from the number of bones found in it. The road now quits the borders of the river, which winds exceedingly. A canal, cut across an isthmus formed by its bendings, saves the boatmen a circuit of several miles. rt. At Gernsheim (Inn, Lamm; Karpfen), on the rt. bank of the Rhine, a colossal statue of sandstone, 12 ft. high, of Peter Schöffer, the partner of Faust in the discovery of printing (1457), who was born here, has been erected, and is fresh painted every year on his birthday! Omnibus to Darmstadt, fare 30 kr. 241. Oppenheim. Inn: the only one is called Zum Gelben Haus (the Yellow House); it furnishes decent accommodation. On a hill to the N. W. of this town (of 2400 inhab. ), under the stately ruins of the ancient Imperial Castle of Landskron, stands the Church of St. Catherine, a building worthy to arrest the attention of all who pass this way. It is a pure example of the Gothic style, displaying at the same time the utmost richness of decoration consistent with elegance and propriety. The towers are in the style of the 12th century; the nave and E. chancel, begun 1262 by Richard of Cornwall, Emperor of Germany, were completed in 1317; the W. chancel, now a ruin, in 1439. The nave is remarkable for its lightness and beauty; the painted glass of the windows must have been splendid; in one of them it still remains nearly perfect. Some of them have a species of fan-shaped tra cery. The rose window is one of the finest specimens in Germany, and most elaborate in its tracery. There are some curious monuments in the church of the Dalbergs and Riedesels, a family of the Wetterau, who bore asses' ears for their crest; but, like the painted windows, they are sadly mutilated; indeed it is melancholy to see what was once so fine a building, and still possesses so much beauty, fallen into such a state of decay and neglect. The roof of the nave is gone, and within its walls is a wilderness of grass and weeds. These injuries owe their origin to the French, who burnt down a part of the church during the war of the Palatinate. It has happily undergone some repair recently, at the expense of the town; its complete restoration is out of the ques-senting the Wise and Foolish Virgins. tion, as it has been left too long to go to decay, and the Grand Duke lends The latter part of this stage from Oppenheim to Worms is dreary. The election of an Emperor of Germany (1024), which ended in the choice of Conrad II. (the Salic), was held on the great plain between Oppenheim and Guntersblum; the various German races, who had a voice, encamped on either side of the Rhine, no city being large enough to hold them. 1. Immediately below Worms, outside the walls, though once included within them, is the Gothic Church of our Lady (Liebe Frau), date 1467. It is situated within the vineyard which produces the pleasant third-rate wine called after it Liebfrauenmilch (our Lady's milk). On each side of its entrance are curious carvings repre The steamer brings to off Worms; the town is about 1 m. distant from the |